Advice on buying Defever Trawler

[Jim Sprague]

I am thinking about buying a 1990 Defever Pilothouse. Any advice on problems to look for on this model ? Is Defever a good brand of boat? Any problems with them over the years?

Jim

[knottybuoyz]

Never been on one but from what I've read DeFever is one of the most enduring names in Long Range Cruisers that you'll find. There was an article in April Passagemaker Magazine on a 45 yr old DeFever that's still going strong. I like the classic lines of these LRC's. Their designers really had an eye for style and proportion. I'd say they're in a class almost by themselves, well I'd put them up there with Selene's, Ocean Alexander's and Flemmings.

[Pblais]

Defever made a lot of good boats. You genrally can't win the ugly boatb contest with them. Being a 1990 boat may present problems that are related to the period of time it was built and the age of the boat and less a refelction on the builder and more on the past owner(s). Our boat is a 1991 sailboat so while not of similar type the age presents problems that are hard to predict without a detailed survey. A lot of things that may have been built right the first time don't stand up to almost 20 years of age and use. You will have things to tend to. Perhaps many small things and maybe a few medium sized things. They generally don't show up in perfect condition with this much age. If there was any neglect it will be hard to hide in a survey. Long periods of sitting in a slip does terrible things to engines.

If you can check the boat out yourself as good as you can then you can decide based on your own research if the price works and then proceed to survey and sea trial. A boat like this has alot of small places and spaces and is usually well equipped.

The nickel and dime stuff adds up and you need to start a list. Your surveyor should help you decide if you can afford to fall in love or not. This is a time when the money does matter.

[GordMay]

DeFever Cruisers:
DeFever Designs: DeFever Cruisers - A Club for Yachting Enthusiasts with a Passion for DeFever Vessels and the Cruising Life!

I like (Art) DeFever’s “cruiser” designs, with their high flared bow, sharp wave entry, deep stable fore-foot and gentle curving shear lines.

[dacust]

I considered a Defever when I was looking. It was the top one on my list. Best layout, features/$ etc. Turned out the stringers were rotten. The owner had to scrap the boat. That was the first thing the surveyor looked at because he had seen that on more than one older Defever. I asked him if he would recommend I not look at Defevers in the future. He said, no definitely look at them, they are good boats. Just make sure to get a survey.

I was bummed out because it really was top on my list. I ended up not finding a trawler in my price range and ended up with a sedan cruiser.

Note, this was an early 80's boat, so they may have improved things by the 90's.

When I look for my next boat, unless my tastes have changed to sailing by then, Defever will probably still be at the top of my list.

[GordMay]

DeFevers have been constructed by different builders, all over the world, so it might be expected to see varying quality.

ie:
Many early DeFevers (1960s) were constructed of wood at the Lindwall yard in Santa Barbara.
Over the next decade, many of Art's designs were constructed of wood at the Oriental Boat Company in Japan, and a few of steel in Guyamas, Mexico.
The Passagemaker 34 and 40 were manufactured at Jensen Marine in California, while the others were built by CTF in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and more recently, by POCTA in mainland China.
The Performance Offshore Cruisers of the 1980s were built at the Sen Koh yard, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The deFever 41, built in the 1980s, were first by Miracle Marine Corporation (MMC), and later by Bluewater Yachts, both of Taiwan.

[Benjamaphone]

Takara, my father's boat, is a Defever 41' that was built in 1986 by Bluewater Yachts in Taiwan. Back then we were selling lots of hatches to boat builders and my dad had the opportunity to have a lot custom work done.

Stainless rails, extra fuel tanks, refurbished fly bridge, all A+H hatches and ports instead of the wooden framed ones, installed roller hatch for companion way access on the stern, proper bowsprit, 'cruising style' refrigeration (instead of the bulky stand up ones that were standard), rounded off all the sharp corners down below... are some of the changes that he had made during the trip.

Basically, he wanted a Grand Banks but didn't want to pay the extra 100G's for it. It turned out to be the right choice because he was able to get exactly what he wanted on the defever. Something about how Grand Banks wouldn't do everything he wanted like change the crappy wooden framed hatches/ports for our Almag line or add rails to maintain their 'look' and 'image' of the brand.

So, the moral of the story is; the defever is a great boat. Takara spent 3 years cruising the Bahamas when she was first delievered and has spent the last 20 odd years cruising the Great Lakes. No major problems except maybe the teak decks need to be replaced soon, the mast had to be replaced and of course the general boat repairs that most everyone has to face after 23 years of cruising.

[GordMay]

You might check out the Defever cruisers site:
DeFever Cruisers Member Benefits - A Club for Yachting Enthusiasts with a Passion for DeFever Vessels and the Cruising Life!

About the DeFever 49 Pilothouse:
DeFever Cruisers - A Club for Yachting Enthusiasts with a Passion for DeFever Vessels and the Cruising Life!

David Pascoe has numerous (didn’t see DeFevers, though) power boat reviews, and MUCH MORE at:
Boat Reviews by David Pascoe, Marine Surveyor - Index

[defever]

i bought my 1983 41ft defever in 1994 and have cruised from canada to guatemala putting 40K nm on him (our boat is DEFINATELY a man) while living aboard since purchase. Nomad has a 135 hp single perkins and burns 2 gal/hr at 7-8kts. we've upgraded the electronics, replaced the autopilot/generator and done some cosmetic work. otherwise the boat has been a dream---very little maintenance other than routine p.m.---oh yeah,forgot about the teak work--GAWD--it's got alot of teak but hey, i'm retired and what else do we have to do? i do have a blister problem tho (see "teeny tiny blisters" in this section) but w/ solid glass hull and no blisters below the waterline, it's no big deal ( i hope). i love our boat and wouldn't sell it if we won the lotto. defever makes a GREAT boat that should last a lifetime w/ proper TLC...